Sexual and Dating Violence Prevention Programs for Male Youth: A Systematic Review of Program Characteristics, Intended Psychosexual Outcomes, and Effectiveness.

Sexual and dating violence (SDV) by male youth (≤ 25 years)-including sexual harassment, emotional partner violence, and rape-is a worldwide problem. The goal of this preregistered (PROSPERO, ID: CRD42022281220) systematic review was to map existing SDV prevention programs aimed at male youth, including their characteristics (e.g., content, intensity), intended psychosexual outcomes, and empirically demonstrated effectiveness, guided by the principles of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). We conducted searches in six online databases for published, peer-reviewed quantitative effectiveness studies on multi-session, group focused, and interaction based SDV prevention programs for male youth ending March 2022. After screening of 21,156 hits using PRISMA guidelines, 15 studies on 13 different programs, from four continents were included. Narrative analysis showed, first, broad ranges in program intensity (2-48 h total), and few program curricula included explicit discussion of relevant aspects of the TPB. Second, programs' main intended psychosexual outcomes were to change SDV experiences, or related attitudes, or norms. Third, significant effects were found mostly on longer term behaviors and short-term attitudes. Other theoretical proxies of SDV experiences, such as social norms and perceived behavioral control, were sparsely investigated; thus, program effectiveness on these outcomes remains largely unknown. Assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, moderate to serious risk of bias arose in all studies. We present concrete suggestions for program content, such as explicit attention to victimization and masculinity and discuss best practices for evaluation research, including assessments of program integrity, and examining relevant theoretical proxies of SDV.

Adolescents' friendship quality and over-time development of well-being: The explanatory role of self-esteem.

INTRODUCTION: The mechanism underlying the positive longitudinal link between adolescents' friendship quality and their well-being is unclear. The present study was performed to investigate whether this longitudinal association between friendship quality and well-being was established via adolescents' global self-esteem, and to examine gender differences in these associations. METHODS: Online questionnaire data were collected in two waves (in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019) from 1298 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls). RESULTS: Multigroup path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect between friendship quality and well-being over time via global self-esteem for girls. For boys, significant direct effects of friendship quality on global self-esteem and well-being were found, but no significant indirect effect. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that higher-quality friendships improve boys' global self-esteem and well-being directly, and that they affect girls' well-being indirectly and positively, by improving their global self-esteem. These results suggest that preventive and intervention-based strategies for the promotion of well-being during the developmental stage of adolescence should incorporate focus on friendships, global self-esteem, and gender specificities.

The Roles of Social Media Use and Friendship Quality in Adolescents' Internalizing Problems and Well-being.

Adolescents spend increasing amounts of time using social media, but whether social media use has a beneficial or harmful role in internalizing problems and well-being during adolescence remains under debate. The present study explored associations of social media use and friendship quality with adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being both concurrently and longitudinally, including the exploration of interactive effects between social media use and friendship quality and the examination of gender differences. Online questionnaire data collected in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019 from 1,298 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls) were used. Path analyses showed that, cross-sectionally, girls (not boys) who used social media more frequently had more internalizing problems and lower well-being. Boys and girls with higher-quality friendships reported fewer concurrent internalizing problems and higher concurrent and longitudinal well-being; the association with internalizing problems was significantly stronger for girls as for boys. We found no significant interaction between social media use and friendship quality. Thus, the present study indicates that social media use and friendship quality have unique roles in adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. Furthermore, the findings support the importance of gender-specific approaches to decrease adolescents' internalizing problems and enhance their well-being.

Associations between adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being: is there a buffering role of boys' and girls' relationships with their mothers and fathers?

BACKGROUND: Internalizing mental health problems (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms) are known to be related negatively to adolescents' well-being. However, whether this negative association manifests equally in boys and girls, and the potential buffering role of high-quality relationships with mothers and fathers, remain unknown. Thus, the present study was conducted to 1) investigate associations among adolescents' internalizing problems and mother- and father-adolescent relationship quality, on the one hand, and adolescents' well-being, on the other hand, 2) explore the buffering role of high-quality mother- and father-adolescent relationships in the association between adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being, and 3) examine gender differences in these main and buffering effects. METHODS: The analysis sample consisted of 1064 adolescents (53.7% girls; aged 11-17 years) from three secondary schools in the Netherlands. Participants filled out an online questionnaire incorporating the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form to measure well-being, the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-25 to measure internalizing problems, and the Network of Relationships Inventory to measure mother- and father-adolescent relationship quality. The cross-sectional data were analyzed using path models in R, controlling for age, ethnocultural background, and education level. Multigroup analyses were performed to identify gender differences. RESULTS: Adolescents with fewer internalizing problems (ß = - 0.40, p < 0.001) and adolescents with higher-quality relationships with their mothers and fathers reported higher concurrent levels of well-being (ß = 0.10 to 0.18, all p < 0.01). The quality of mother-adolescent relationships had a significantly larger association with adolescents' well-being than that of father-adolescent relationship quality. However, relationships with mothers and fathers did not significantly buffer the association between adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. Multigroup analyses revealed no difference between boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: The current study contributes to the understanding of internalizing problems as an important risk factor for adolescents' well-being, regardless of the quality of relationships with mothers and fathers. The quality of adolescents' relationships with their parents is associated positively with their well-being, even in the presence of internalizing problems. These findings underline the importance of mothers' and fathers' roles in adolescent boys' and girls' well-being.

Longitudinal associations among adolescents' internalizing problems, well-being, and the quality of their relationships with their mothers, fathers, and close friends.

RATIONALE: Internalizing problems (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms) are known to decrease adolescents' well-being, but knowledge about potential underlying mechanisms is limited. The qualities of adolescents' most proximal relationships with their parents and close friends are expected to play a role in the association between adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to 1) investigate the indirect longitudinal association between internalizing problems and adolescents' well-being via the quality of adolescents' relationships with both their mothers and fathers and their close friends, and 2) test whether our findings were gender invariant. METHODS: Data were collected via online questionnaires in two waves at a 12-month interval from adolescents attending three secondary schools in the Netherlands (N = 1298; M age = 13.7 years, 53.2% girls). The data were analyzed using a two-wave cross-lagged panel model in R. Multigroup analyses were performed to examine the gender invariance of the findings. RESULTS: After controlling for baseline levels, results showed that (1) girls, but not boys, who reported more internalizing problems at T1 had lower well-being at T2; (2) girls and boys who reported more internalizing problems at T1 had lower-quality relationships with their mothers, fathers, and close friends at T2; and (3) boys, but not girls, who reported higher-quality friendships at T1 had higher well-being at T2. However, no significant indirect effects between internalizing problems and well-being via the quality of adolescents' relationships with their parents and close friends were detected. CONCLUSIONS: The current study contributes to understanding internalizing problems as an important risk factor to the quality of adolescents' proximal social relationships (parents, friends) and their well-being. The findings support the importance of building high-quality relationships, particularly friendships, and recommend future research to study adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being including gender-specific examinations.

Romantic relationships and sexuality in diverse adolescent populations: Introduction to the special issue.

Although scientific research on adolescent romantic and sexual development has proliferated in recent years, currently, too little is known about how development in these areas can be understood across diverse populations (e.g., different socio-cultural groups within countries) and contexts (e.g., countries or different proximal social environments). The goal of the current virtual special issue in the Journal of Adolescence was to highlight relevant and timely empirical findings from studies utilizing innovative and diverse research methods in the areas of adolescent romantic and sexual development from around the globe, with an emphasis on data collected outside of the Western world. It combines an interesting set of nine empirical papers, which describe datasets from 5 countries (Canada, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States). In this editorial, we provide an introduction to this special issue, and illustrate how these studies expand our understanding of adolescent romantic and sexual development by examining: 1) romantic and sexual relationship constructs that are relevant for understudied and diverse populations; 2) how culture-specific factors may shape adolescents' romantic and sexual relationships; 3) how romantic and sexual relationship constructs are linked to psychosocial adjustment outcomes in understudied cultural contexts; 4) the role of different proximal social environments (e.g., parents, siblings, peers) in romantic and sexual development in diverse populations.

Youth's Socio-Sexual Competences With Romantic and Casual Sexual Partners.

We investigated youth's self-reported socio-sexual competences (esteem, assertiveness, control, communication) within their most recent sexual partnerships, and explored disparities in these competences between romantic versus casual sexual partnerships, including age and gender differences therein. Data were used from 6,098 Dutch adolescents and young adults (12.1-26.1 years), who participated in a national study on sexual health. Results indicated that being in love and sexual activity frequency were significant confounders for the associations between sexual partnership typology and youth's socio-sexual competence levels. After controlling for confounding relationship characteristics and sociodemographics, no differences were found between sexual partnership types in youth's sexual esteem, assertiveness, and control. However, romantic sexual partnerships were characterized by more frequent sexual communication than casual sexual partnerships. This pattern was gender-consistent, but for young adults, this difference in sexual communication across sexual partnership types was larger than for adolescents. Our findings emphasize that considering the relationship context (e.g., romantic, casual) for the development, utilization, and evaluation of young people's socio-sexual competences - particularly sexual communication - is a vital task for parents, educators, clinicians, and researchers. Individual (person-centered) versus relational (dyad-centered) differences in youth's socio-sexual competences require further exploration, as does the link between socio-sexual competences and sexual health and satisfaction.

Longitudinal Associations Between Sexual Communication With Friends and Sexual Behaviors Through Perceived Sexual Peer Norms.

The role of peers in adolescents' sexual behaviors is not yet fully understood. We investigated the association between sexual communication with friends (at T1) and subsequent changes in adolescents' experience with sexual behaviors (between T1-T3), and examined whether this association was explained by adolescents' perceptions of three sexual peer norms (at T2): (1) peers' sexual behaviors (descriptive norms), (2) peers' approval of sexual behaviors (injunctive norms), and (3) peer pressure to have sex. The data source was Project STARS, a longitudinal study on adolescent sexual development in the Netherlands, collected via online self-report questionnaires from 1,116 adolescents (11.5-17.9 years). Adolescents who communicated more frequently with their friends about sexuality-related topics at T1 reported significantly larger increases in their experience with different sexual behaviors between T1-T3. More sexual communication with friends also predicted adolescents subsequently perceiving more 1) peer sexual behaviors, 2) peer approval of sex, and 3) peer pressure to have sex. These stronger perceptions, in turn, predicted larger increases in their sexual behaviors between T1-T3. After adjusting for the three norms simultaneously, the main association between sexual communication with friends and sexual behavior change weakened but remained significant. Inspection of specific indirect effects showed this link was explained by injunctive norms only. No gender differences were found.

A Warm Nest or 'The Talk'? Exploring and Explaining Relations Between General and Sexuality-Specific Parenting and Adolescent Sexual Emotions.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to explore and explain two hypothesized indirect longitudinal pathways and investigate gender differences in linking parenting factors to adolescents' sexual emotions. The general pathway expected higher parent-adolescent relationship quality to be related to more positive and less negative sexual emotions through higher adolescent global self-esteem. The sexuality-specific pathway expected more frequent parent-adolescent sexual communication to be related to more positive and less negative sexual emotions through higher adolescent sexual autonomy. METHODS: Online questionnaire data were used from three waves of Project STARS, a longitudinal study on adolescent sexual development. The analysis sample included 248 sexually experienced adolescents (M = 14.74 years at baseline). Adolescents reported on the quality of their parent-adolescent relationship, how often they discussed sexual topics with their parents, their global self-esteem, sexual autonomy, and experience of positive (happy, proud, and loved) and negative (dirty, ashamed, and guilty) emotions after having sex. RESULTS: Overall, adolescents experienced more positive than negative emotions after sex. Mplus path model results indicated that, first, higher parent-adolescent relationship quality was related to higher adolescent global self-esteem, but global self-esteem was not related to sexual emotions. Second, more frequent parent-adolescent sexual communication was related to more adolescent sexual autonomy, and more sexual autonomy was related to more positive and less negative sexual emotions. However, no significant indirect effects, nor gender differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents' sexual autonomy appears to play a particularly important role in how they experience having sex. Concrete suggestions for how the development of adolescents' sexual autonomy may be supported are discussed.

Evaluating the psychometric properties of the mental health continuum-short form (MHC-SF) in Dutch adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Mental health is increasingly viewed as the presence of various aspects of well-being rather than just the absence of mental illness. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is a 14-item instrument that assesses mental health, focusing on emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The present study examined for the first time the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the MHC-SF among adolescents, focusing on its factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, and gender and age factorial invariance. METHODS: Data were collected from a school-based sample of 1175 adolescents (53.4% girls) aged 11-17 years (M = 13.7; SD = 1.1). Participants completed an online questionnaire in the classroom during regular school hours. Statistical analyses to evaluate the factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, and gender and age factorial invariance were performed in SPSS and R. RESULTS: Using confirmatory factor analyses, a satisfactory-to-good fit was obtained for the three-factor model (emotional, psychological, and social well-being). The MHC-SF scores showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .91) and results supported convergent and divergent validity. Finally, the MHC-SF showed gender and age factorial invariance. CONCLUSION: The current psychometric evaluation indicates the MHC-SF is a reliable and valid instrument to assess multiple dimensions of well-being among Dutch adolescents. The instrument can be applied for research purposes and in clinical practice.

Internalizing symptoms and dating violence perpetration in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence suggests an association between internalizing symptoms and violence against others. It remains unknown whether this link exists in the context of romantic relationships. In the current study, we tested whether anxiety and depression were associated over time with adolescent dating violence perpetration. METHODS: The sample included 238 Canadian adolescents (42% boys). Using a longitudinal design, their anxiety, depressive symptoms, and dating violence perpetration were annually assessed from age 14 to 15 years. RESULTS: Cross-lagged analyses revealed effects from anxiety and depressive symptoms to dating violence one year later (ß = 0.27, p < .001; and ß = 0.14, p = .04, respectively). No reversed cross-lagged paths were found from dating violence to subsequent anxiety or depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore the predictive value of internalizing symptoms on dating violence perpetration. Reducing internalizing symptoms and improving coping strategies are important targets for the prevention of dating violence.

Buffer or Brake? The Role of Sexuality-Specific Parenting in Adolescents' Sexualized Media Consumption and Sexual Development.

One main source of sexual socialization lies within family interactions. Especially sexuality-specific parenting may determine adolescents' sexual development-adolescents' sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior, sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes-to a significant extent, but different ideas exist about how this works. In this longitudinal study, we examined two hypotheses on how sexuality-specific parenting-parenting aimed specifically at children's sexual attitudes and behaviors-relates to adolescents' sexual development. A first buffer hypothesis states that parents' instructive media discussions with their children-called instructive mediation-buffers the effect of sexualized media consumption on adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior and, vice versa, the effect of adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior on sexualized media consumption. A second brake hypothesis states that parents, by communicating love-and-respect oriented sexual norms, slow down adolescents' development toward increased sexualized media use, permissive sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior. Using four-wave longitudinal data from 514 Dutch adolescents aged 13-16 years (49.8% female), we found evidence to support a brake effect. More frequent parental communication of love-and-respect oriented sexual norms was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes and, for boys, with less advanced sexual behavior and a less rapid increase in sexual risk behavior. Parents' instructive mediation regarding adolescents' sexualized media consumption was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes at baseline, but only for girls. No systematic evidence emerged for a buffer effect of parents' instructive mediation. In conclusion, although our data seem to suggest that parent-child communication about sex is oftentimes "after the fact", we also find that more directive parental communication that conveys love-and-respect oriented sexual norms brake adolescents' move toward sexual maturity.

Bidirectional Associations Between Adolescents' Sexual Behaviors and Psychological Well-Being.

PURPOSE: Assessing bidirectional longitudinal associations between early sexual behaviors (≤16.0 years) and psychological well-being (global self-esteem, physical self-esteem, depression) among 716 adolescents, and the direct and buffering effect of parent-adolescent relationship quality. METHODS: We used data from Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a longitudinal study on adolescent sexual development in the Netherlands. Participants were 11.0-16.0 years old (mean age at T1 = 13.3 years). Self-reports from four waves of online questionnaires were used. Bidirectional longitudinal associations were assessed by linear mixed-effects models. RESULTS: At most waves, boys had significantly higher levels of psychological well-being than girls, but genders did not differ in experience with sexual behaviors. Engagement in early sexual behaviors did not predict lower levels of psychological well-being over time, and lower levels of psychological well-being did not predict more engagement in early sexual behaviors over time. Parent-adolescent relationship quality did not moderate these associations in either direction, although we found a significant direct effect, in which a higher-quality parent-adolescent relationship predicted more optimal levels of the three indicators of adolescents' psychological well-being (but not lower levels of early sexual activity) over time. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that, among Dutch adolescents, early sexual behaviors and psychological well-being were not interrelated. This may be explained by socio-cultural aspects of the Dutch society, such as more normalization of sexual behaviors during adolescence. As a result, early sexual activity in and of itself was not related to lower psychological well-being over time. Yet, cross-cultural differences in links between adolescents' sexuality and well-being should be further investigated.

Intra- and Inter-Individual Differences in Adolescent Depressive Mood: the Role of Relationships with Parents and Friends.

Utilizing four waves of data from 1126 secondary school Dutch adolescents (Mage = 13.95 at the first wave; 53% boys), the current study examined the interplay between parent-adolescent and friend-adolescent relationship quality (satisfaction and conflict) in relation to adolescents' depressive mood. Using multilevel analyses, the interacting effects of parent/friend relationship quality on depressive mood were tested at both the intra- and inter-individual level. Analyses at the intra-individual level investigated whether individual depressive mood fluctuated along with changes in their social relationships regardless of one's general level of depressive mood; and analyses at the inter-individual level examined whether the average differences in depressive mood between adolescents were associated with different qualities of social relationships. We interpreted the patterns of interactions between parent and friend relationships using four theoretical models: the reinforcement, toxic friends, compensation, and additive model. The results demonstrate the covariation of parent- and friend- relationship quality with adolescents' depressive mood, and highlight that parent and peer effects are not independent from each other-affirming the compensation and additive models at the intra-individual and the reinforcement and additive models at the inter-individual level. The findings highlight the robustness of the protective effects of parent and peer support and the deleterious effects of conflictual relationships for adolescent mental health. The results have implications for both the theoretical and practical design of (preventive) interventions aimed at decreasing adolescents' depressive mood.

Observed Normativity and Deviance in Friendship Dyads' Conversations About Sex and the Relations With Youths' Perceived Sexual Peer Norms.

The current study examined the relations between observed normativity and deviance during adolescents' and young adults' conversations about sex with their friends and their individual perceptions of sexual peer norms. Participants were 16-21-year-old same-sex friendship dyads (31 male and 30 female dyads) who performed a peer interaction task that consisted of five discussion assignments focusing on party planning, sexual double standards, condom use, homosexuality, and consensual sex. Videotaped discussions were coded to capture the amounts of normative talk (e.g., consistent with notions of healthy sexuality) and deviant talk (e.g., consistent with notions of risky sexuality), and the verbal or nonverbal reinforcement thereof. Participants also completed individual questionnaires to assess their perceived sexual descriptive norms, injunctive norms, pressure, and risk norms among their peers. Actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) results revealed that youths' perceived descriptive, injunctive, and risk norms, but not their experienced peer pressure, were related to both their own (actor effects) and their friends' (partner effects) normativity and deviance. Overall, more deviance was related to perceiving friends to be more sexually active, more approving of having sex, and engaging in more risky sex, whereas more normativity was related to these perceptions in the opposite direction. Gender differences in the APIMs indicated that interactive normativity and deviance was related to perceived descriptive, injunctive, and risk norms for boys, but only to perceived injunctive norms for girls. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing the dyadic nature of youths' sexual communication with friends, their relation to individual sexual peer norm perceptions, and gender differences therein.

Mother- and Father-Adolescent Relationships and Early Sexual Intercourse.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prospective associations between mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationship quality and early sexual intercourse initiation (ie, ≤16 years) among a large sample of Dutch adolescents. METHODS: Two waves of data from the Rotterdam Youth Monitor, a longitudinal study in the Netherlands, were used. The analysis sample consisted of 2931 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years (Meanage@T1 = 12.5 years, SD = 0.61; Meanage@T2 = 14.3 years, SD = 0.60). Variables were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires. Prospective associations between mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships and early sexual initiation were assessed by logistic regression analyses, stratified by gender, controlling for various potential confounders. RESULTS: We found that only girls (not boys) having a higher-quality relationship with mothers were significantly less likely to have initiated early sexual intercourse between T1 and T2. Bivariate findings showed that both girls and boys having a higher-quality relationship with their father at T1 were significantly less likely to have engaged in early sexual intercourse between T1 and T2, but when assessed multivariately, these associations were no longer significant, neither for boys nor for girls. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a higher-quality relationship between adolescents and their parents, especially between mothers and daughters, may help to protect against early sexual initiation. Pediatricians and other health care professionals should be able to explain to parents that early sexual intercourse initiation can be associated with negative health outcomes, but that parents can play an important role in promoting healthy sexual behaviors.

Early Sexual Intercourse: Prospective Associations with Adolescents Physical Activity and Screen Time.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prospective associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time with early sexual intercourse initiation (i.e., before 15 years) in a large sample of adolescents. METHODS: We used two waves of data from the Rotterdam Youth Monitor, a longitudinal study conducted in the Netherlands. The analysis sample consisted of 2,141 adolescents aged 12 to 14 years (mean age at baseline = 12.2 years, SD = 0.43). Physical activity (e.g., sports outside school), screen time (e.g., computer use), and early sexual intercourse initiation were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires. Logistic regression models were tested to assess the associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time (separately and simultaneously) with early sexual intercourse initiation, controlling for confounders (i.e., socio-demographics and substance use). Interaction effects with gender were tested to assess whether these associations differed significantly between boys and girls. RESULTS: The only physical activity behavior that was a significant predictor of early sexual intercourse initiation was sports club membership. Adolescent boys and girls who were members of a sports club) were more likely to have had early sex (OR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.33, 3.56. Significant gender interaction effects indicated that boys who watched TV ≥2 hours/day (OR = 2.00; 95% CI = 1.08, 3.68) and girls who used the computer ≥2 hours/day (OR = 3.92; 95% CI = 1.76, 8.69) were also significantly more likely to have engaged in early sex. CONCLUSION: These findings have implications for professionals in general pediatric healthcare, sexual health educators, policy makers, and parents, who should be aware of these possible prospective links between sports club membership, TV watching (for boys), and computer use (for girls), and early sexual intercourse initiation. However, continued research on determinants of adolescents' early sexual initiation is needed to further contribute to the strategies for improving adolescents' healthy sexual development and behaviors.

Sexuality (and Lack Thereof) in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: A Review of the Literature.

Youth sexuality has been primarily studied with a focus on its potential public health issues, such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies, and its comorbidity with other risky behaviors. More recently, it has been studied as a normative step in romantic partnerships, either pre- or post-marital, as well as outside the context of romantic involvement. In this paper, we review the extensive literature on sexuality in adolescence and early adulthood both within and outside romantic relationships (i.e., casual sexual relationships and experiences; CSREs). Furthermore, the recent recognition of youth sexuality as a developmental task has led to a renewed interest from scholars in youth who abstain from sexual encounters, whether deliberately or not. A brief overview of the literature on cultural differences in sexuality, and sexual-minority youth sexual development is also provided. This paper concludes by suggesting future directions to bring the field of youth sexuality and romantic relationships forward.

Indirect Over-Time Relations Between Parenting and Adolescents' Sexual Behaviors and Emotions Through Global Self-Esteem.

The present study examined indirect over-time relations between parenting and adolescent sexuality through global self-esteem. Three waves of online questionnaire data were collected among a community sample of 1,116 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.9 years at baseline). Participants rated the quality of their relationship with parents, their global self-esteem, and their experience with various sexual behaviors. Sexually experienced adolescents (n = 168) evaluated their sexual experiences using six emotions. Path model results showed that a higher-quality relationship with parents at T1 predicted higher levels of self-esteem at T2, which in turn predicted less experience with sexual behaviors and more positive sexual emotions at T3. The indirect over-time path from relationship quality through self-esteem to adolescents' sexual emotions was significant; the indirect path to adolescents' experience with sexual behaviors was not significant at the .05 level. No significant age or gender differences were found in the path models. The findings indicate that self-esteem plays an important role in adolescent sexuality and that parents can contribute to positive sexual experiences of adolescents indirectly--through the enhancement of self-esteem--by fostering a high-quality relationship with their children. Implications for theory, future research, and strategies to promote healthy and positive youth sexuality are discussed.